


Umi Sonoda vs. the World

by konokomi



Category: Love Live! School Idol Project
Genre: F/F, Umi is Not a Dashing Prince
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-05
Updated: 2015-11-05
Packaged: 2018-04-30 03:44:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,801
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5149013
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/konokomi/pseuds/konokomi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Umi is not the smooth operator everyone thinks she is. Far from it, actually, if her awful dinner with Kotori's parents was any indication.</p><p>Nico only got the condensed version. What actually happened was so much worse.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Umi Sonoda vs. the World

**Author's Note:**

> the Infamous kotoumi dinner!!!! someone save umi
> 
> companion piece to [nico's own meet-the-parents hell](http://archiveofourown.org/works/5049508)

The possibility of death was not one Umi liked to deny. It was hard to, after all. Everyone dies someday, some more glorious than others. Some in awful, awful ways unbefitting of the type of people they were, and some in ways that are far too kind for the heinous deeds they committed in their lives. Umi always figured she would die in a spectacular blaze of glory, rush the gates of Valhalla with confidence and take her place among history’s greatest warriors. She was gonna die historic on the Fury Road no matter what it took.

She did not expect a girlfriend-induced heart attack to be her undoing.

“Kotori-chan… I don’t think Umi-chan is breathing…”

It wasn’t like Kotori’s request was _unreasonable_ —quite the opposite, in fact. After having waffled around their (her) feelings for a short while (the last few years, really), they (Umi) had finally just came out and said how they (she) felt about each other (Kotori). Things worked out well. They were happy. Perhaps Umi was still a little shaky on proper dating etiquette and tried way, way too hard sometimes, but it was in an endearing way.

And, okay, maybe it didn't _help_ that they always seemed to bring Honoka along on their dates, which sort of turned them into Friend Outings instead of Super Gay Romantic Dates like they were intended to be, but it was fine! Honoka was a dear friend of the both of them and they didn't want her to feel excluded now that she and Kotori had progressed their relationship to a level beyond platonic. Not to mention it took a lot of the pressure off of Umi to be a Good Girlfriend and be Suave and Romantic and decidedly Not Fuck Things Up. Having Honoka around made the last one nigh impossible, because she would, undoubtedly, _inevitably_ , focus on keeping Honoka from doing something she shouldn't too much to embarrass herself in front of Kotori.

Not that she would ever admit that to Kotori, but, well, chances were she already knew and just didn't want to say anything.

(Sometimes Umi wonders how she landed someone so Good. Someone so willing to overlook her flaws.

And there were a _lot_ of them.)

“It's been almost a minute, I think. Should we get an ambulance?”

“Honoka-chan, that seems a little rash... I'm sure it hasn't been that long! Umi-chan, you're okay, right? ...Umi-chan?”

“I really don't think she's breathing! What did you say while I was getting everyone's food that did this to her?!”

“I-I didn't say anything! I just asked if she wanted to come over for dinner! It's nothing she hasn't done before! And that was all I asked, then she froze!”

Somehow, hearing it again shocked Umi enough to bring her back to reality with a silent scream in the back of her throat she managed to swallow down before screeching like a wild animal in the middle of the mall food court. Her eyes flitted from Honoka, who had her hands on her shoulders and was still gently shaking her, to Kotori, who looked a mix of worried and relieved all at once.

She managed to croak out an, “I'm sorry,” which was good enough for Honoka to stop shaking her.

“Are you okay, Umi-chan?” she asked, leaning in close and squinting at Umi. “You stopped breathing there for a while. Are you really that scared about going over to Kotori-chan's house for dinner? We used to do it all the time!”

“I'm not—scared of that!” Umi replied, defensive.

“You stopped breathing and had a funny face on for like a minute…”

“ _Honoka_!”

“I'm just worried!”

“Honoka-chan is right!” said Kotori, folding her hands in her lap and leaning forward. “You're not exactly the most... suave person ever, yes, but you don't usually freeze up like that for so long!”

It hit Umi just then that she had, indeed, frozen up. In public. In the mall food court. In front of a ton of people. Oh, God, she probably embarrassed Kotori. Now she would never go out with her in public again. She'd never want to see her again. Their relationship would be over and the overwhelming feeling of the embarrassment Umi caused would even affect their friendship.

Umi stood up without even pushing back her chair, causing it to scrape violently against the tile floor of the food court, and bowed.

“I'm sorry for embarrassing you, Kotori!” she said far too loudly, now _actually_ attracting the attention of people that in all honesty hadn’t cared before. “Allow me to make it up to you! Let me fight for your honor!”

“Umi-chan... You need to stop saying that…”

Umi's entire face flared up as she straightened herself, coughed into her fist, and sheepishly grabbed the chair before sliding it back under her as she sat down. She put her elbows on the table and her face in her hands. The world could end right there for all she cared.

It didn't, and Umi was forced to face her own idiocy.

“Mmf me mah smfm,” she muttered into her hands, the muffled “I'm sorry” responded to by Kotori with a reassuring hand on her arm.

“It's okay, Umi-chan. You're fine!” Kotori said, warm.

“Yeah, we already know you're _really_ awkward, so you don't have to get all weird about it!” Honoka added.

The look Umi gave her as she lifted her face from her hands could have taken down a fully-grown bear.

* * *

Umi sat down in front of her computer and looked at the piece of napkin Honoka had scribbled her login information for some chat website on before pressing it into Umi's hand with a thumbs up and reassurance that if she was _really_ worried about dinner with the Minamis, she could always ask any of their other friends for help. She was slightly disappointed that Honoka and Kotori seemed to be completely nonchalant about the whole thing, citing the fact that she had been friends with Kotori for _ages_ and if the Minamis were going to dislike her for any reason, they'd have done so long, long ago.

To make matters worse, the only person whose common sense she banked on was offline.

It wasn't unusual to have non-overlapping hours with Eli. She and Nozomi were studying ballet and cinematography, respectively, in America, and the timezone difference led to a lot of problems.

This was no time to worry about something like that.

She clicked on Eli's username (or, well, she _assumed_ it was Eli. The username was "harash0" and unless Alisa used this too, it _had_ to be Eli) and flexed her fingers before typing.

> honkhonk is online!
> 
> honkhonk: Eli.  
>  honkhonk: Eli, I need your help.  
>  honkhonk: Eli, please.   
>  honkhonk: I don’t know if I can make it.   
>  honkhonk: You’re the only one I can go to.   
>  honkhonk: Eli-san.   
>  honkhonk: Ayase-san.   
>  honkhonk: Ayase-senpai.
> 
> harash0 is online!
> 
> harash0: Honoka, it’s three in the morning.   
>  honkhonk: Oh, this is Umi.   
>  harash0: Umi? What are you doing on Honoka’s chat account?   
>  honkhonk: I don’t have one of my own, so she let me borrow it to get in contact with you.   
>  honkhonk: Anyway,   
>  honkhonk: I have a very, uh… large problem.   
>  harash0: Well, I’m awake, so I may as well help.   
>  harash0: What do you need?   
>  honkhonk: Kotori wants me to have dinner with her parents.   
>  harash0:   
>  harash0: You and Kotori have been friends for a long time, right?   
>  honkhonk: Since we were children.   
>  harash0: So what’s the problem? Surely you’ve gone over to eat with her family before.   
>  honkhonk: This is different!   
>  honkhonk: We’re… We’re DATING now! It’s different!

It was a few minutes of agonizing silence before Eli replied again.

> harash0: Umi, you’re being ridiculous. Minami-san already LIKES you as Kotori’s FRIEND. I doubt her opinion of you will change now that you’re her GIRLfriend.   
>  honkhonk: But what if it DOES?!   
>  harash0: You’re overthinking things, Umi! Just be yourself.   
>  harash0: And it hasn’t stopped being three in the morning, so if you need anything else, try asking someone in the same timezone?
> 
> harash0 is offline!

She frowned at the computer screen as a chat notification from "alpacasrlove" popped up.

> alpacasrlove: UMI-CHAN!!!!!!!   
>  alpacasrlove: did you have any luck or are you still all weird and nervous???   
>  honkhonk: Kotori?   
>  alpacasrlove: honoka!!! you're on my chat account so i had to borrow hers to talk to you   
>  alpacasrlove: since you don't have unlimited texting   
>  alpacasrlove: and you don't have your own chat account   
>  alpacasrlove: which you should geeeeeet   
>  honkhonk: No thank you.   
>  alpacasrlove: :'(   
>  honkhonk: To answer your question, no, I still feel the same as I did.   
>  honkhonk: And I am NOT weird and nervous. I'm being perfectly rational.   
>  honkhonk: It's not unheard of for one to be anxious about meeting the parents of their significant other.   
>  alpacasrlove: ................................you already know kotori-chan's parents   
>  alpacasrlove: like. really well   
>  alpacasrlove: they really like you   
>  alpacasrlove: they always said you had a good head on your shoulders   
>  alpacasrlove: and they know you really care about kotori-chan!!!! what are you so afraid of???   
>  honkhonk: I'm not afraid of anything!   
>  honkhonk: I just

Umi sat back in her chair and drummed her fingers on her desk. She just what? Honoka did have a point--Kotori's parents had known her for almost her entire life and they knew that Kotori was happy with her, but something still felt... odd.

> honkhonk: I just want everything to be perfect.   
>  honkhonk: Kotori deserves it.   
>  alpacasrlove: that was so sweet   
>  honkhonk: Please don't ruin my moment. That actually sounded rather romantic.   
>  honkhonk: That may never happen again.   
>  alpacasrlove: ok ok   
>  alpacasrlove: but uhhhh   
>  alpacasrlove: maybe buying a nice dress wouldn't be a bad idea????   
>  honkhonk: Can't I just wear one of our performance outfits?   
>  alpacasrlove: umi-chan............ why............   
>  honkhonk: My fashion sense isn't... the best. Kotori usually finds things she enjoys and gets them for me.   
>  honkhonk: At least I know with certainty our live show outfits are coordinated properly.   
>  alpacasrlove: if you show up to dinner in your korekara no someday outfit i want photos umi-chan   
>  honkhonk: I wouldn't wear that one!   
>  alpacasrlove: oh do you still have the dress from the anone ganbare and shiranai love * oshiete love album cover shoots??? that one was really pretty!!   
>  honkhonk: Not anymore, no.   
>  alpacasrlove: darn   
>  alpacasrlove: well we DID get suits for love wing bell even though we weren't there so maybe you could be all like   
>  alpacasrlove: "good evening mr. and mrs. minami i'm here for dinner. also i love your daughter and i am so dapper. look at me"   
>  alpacasrlove: maybe with a fake mustache too   
>  alpacasrlove: you'd look good in a mustache   
>  honkhonk: Honoka.   
>  alpacasrlove: well it's true!!!!!   
>  alpacasrlove: at least wear the suit :(( you don't have to use the mustache if you don't want to i guess   
>  honkhonk: I'd rather wear something nice and... feminine…   
>  alpacasrlove: ????   
>  honkhonk: I don't want her parents to assume I'm trying to force Kotori into a stereotypically feminine role in our relationship. We're equals. Neither of us is "the man" or "the woman."   
>  alpacasrlove: you've really thought about this haven't you   
>  honkhonk: Of course.   
>  honkhonk: It has to be PERFECT.   
>  alpacasrlove: don’t you think maybe trying too hard is gonna make it worse than you’re anticipating?? i really think you’re overdoing it!!   
>  honkhonk: Well, then what do you suggest I do?   
>  alpacasrlove: welllll   
>  alpacasrlove: we could start with going shopping for something nice to wear to the dinner!!! maybe that will take some of the pressure off you   
>  alpacasrlove: plus i have to buy a present for yuki-chan’s birthday   
>  honkhonk: Isn’t that tomorrow?   
>  alpacasrlove: i didn’t say i hadn’t procrastinated ok!!   
>  alpacasrlove: but i think it’ll be good for you   
>  alpacasrlove: i’ll let my mom know i can’t help out in the shop today and we can take the train to the shibuya 109 and find you something really pretty to wear!!!   
>  alpacasrlove: and of course something for yuki-chan   
>  alpacasrlove: oh we should invite rin-chan and hanayo-chan too!!!!   
>  honkhonk: That sounds fine to me.   
>  honkhonk: What time should we meet?   
>  alpacasrlove: in about an hour?? outside homura!   
>  honkhonk: Okay. I’ll be there.   
>  honkhonk: Thanks, Honoka.   
>  alpacasrlove: hehehe, what are friends for???
> 
> alpacasrlove is offline!

Maybe Honoka was right. Maybe she was overthinking this. Planning for the worst case scenario was never a bad thing to do, right? Better to be prepared than have something you weren’t planning for happen and have everything fall to pieces. And she had a point--the Minamis had known her (and Honoka) since she was a child, and they’d never once expressed that they disliked her in any way.

But that was before she and Kotori started… _dating_.

God, she was embarrassed just _thinking_ about it.

It had only been a couple months since their relationship changed from Just Friends to We Are Actually Pretty Gay, and even though Kotori and the rest of their friends had adapted to it rather quickly, it still made Umi nervous. Was she a good girlfriend? Was she awful? Did Kotori just put up with her because she felt bad for her? She still had trouble voicing it, but she really _did_ care about Kotori, and quite a lot.

The fact that they were nearing the end of their third year at Otonokizaka did little to ease her anxieties.

Leaving her friends to head to separate colleges was something she had always been prepared to do, and after forming μ's and becoming friends with Nozomi, Eli, and Nico, it was something she had to face earlier than expected. But despite the distance, most notably with Nozomi and Eli, they managed to stay in touch well enough to keep up their friendships. After so many years of seeing Honoka and Kotori every day, it would be hard adjusting to seeing them less frequently, and Kotori even _more_ so.

Umi chewed her thumbnail. Kotori leaving for college was probably the toughest of all. She'd received an offer to study abroad for her first year, and after a firm debate that her future was more important than staying in Japan with her and Honoka, she decided to accept it. While Umi was undeniably happy for her, it didn't help her fears. Maintaining friendships was one thing; maintaining a relationship was another. And it wasn’t as though Umi didn’t _trust_ Kotori--she did, quite a lot--but the thought of her (first) relationship crumbling because of distance, especially considering Kotori was one of her closest friends, terrified her beyond words.

She dropped her head to her desk and groaned loudly. She _really_ wasn’t cut out for this Relationship Thing if she was worried about all this stuff, but it was hard not to panic about the inevitability of the future. At least she had Honoka to distract her, even with something as temporary as shopping for a new outfit.

...That she wasn’t even sure she had money for. She dug her wallet out of her purse and counted how much cash she had on her before sighing and leaning back in her chair, arms and legs sprawled dramatically.

She had ¥500 total.

“Mother,” she called out loudly, “may I borrow ¥10000 to go shopping for a dress to wear to dinner with the Minamis?”

* * *

“Okay, now try on this one!” Honoka said, grabbing the next dress off the pile in Rin’s arms and thrusting it at Umi. Umi adjusted the slowly slipping strapless top of the dress she had on (the last one Honoka had handed her) and frowned slightly.

“Honoka, this seems a little too fancy for the occasion…” The intricate jewel patterns across the top and bottom were a dead giveaway this wasn’t meant for dinner with your girlfriend’s parents, but Umi, stalwart as she was, was never any good at denying Honoka for too long.

“It’ll look soooo pretty on you, though!” Rin said, bouncing on her toes.

From the next stall over, Hanayo piped up with, “And trying on dresses is fun! Even if you don’t end up buying anything in the end.” She opened the door to the stall and came out, head to toe in a soft yellow ball gown, twisting where she stood to swish the tiers of the dress around.

Rin’s eyes widened. “Whoa, you look just like a princess, Kayo-chin!”

Hanayo giggled. “I feel like one, too!” She twirled around a couple times as Rin handed the pile of dresses to Honoka.

“May I have this dance, milady?” Rin asked, bowed low to the floor with a hand extended, the other behind her back as she propped one ankle behind the other.

“You may,” Hanayo replied with a curtsy, taking Rin’s hand before being whisked away to an impromptu clumsy waltz outside the fitting room.

Honoka sighed wistfully. “They’re so cute together. Now, let’s get you into another--Umi-chan, are you okay?”

Unconsciously, Umi had started wringing her hands in the dress she had in her hands, bottom lip between her teeth. “Huh? Oh, yes, I’m fine.”

“Are you sure?” Honoka asked, unconvinced.

“Yeah, I just--” Umi cut herself off. It was stupid, right? It was so stupid, but she wanted to know regardless. “Honoka, um… Are… Are Kotori and I… _cute_ together, too? Even though we-- _I_ don’t do anything like that?”

“Huh? That’s a weird question. But…” Honoka tapped her chin. “Not really?”

Umi deflated. “Oh…”

“I-I don’t mean it in a bad way! It’s just-- Well, like-- You’re just not--” Honoka stopped and puffed her cheeks out, thinking about how to word it. “You and Kotori-chan just _aren’t_ Rin-chan and Hanayo-chan. They’re different from you! Rin-chan is Rin-chan and Hanayo-chan is Hanayo-chan and Umi-chan is Umi-chan and Kotori-chan is Kotori-chan. That’s just how it is.”

“You make it sound like a bad thing…”

“It’s really not! I promise!” Honoka said, waving her hands in a panic. “It’s just that you and Kotori-chan aren’t like Rin-chan and Hanayo-chan so you can’t compare yourselves to them. You make Kotori-chan happy and she makes you happy and that’s all that matters, right? Even if you don’t do spontaneous things like that, at the end of the day, Kotori-chan likes you because you’re _you_. If she didn’t, she wouldn’t be with you.”

Umi blinked a few times before smiling softly. “When did you become such a love guru, Honoka?”

“Huh? I’ve always been one!” she replied proudly, putting her hands on her hips and puffing out her chest. “Tsubasa-chan said it’s part of my undeniable charm!”

“Oh, you and Tsubasa are friends?”

“Well, _yeah_. You kind of have to like each other to date, Umi-chan.”

That caught her off-guard. “Wait, _date_? You’re _dating_ Tsubasa?”

“...Did I not tell you?”

“I had no idea! That would be why I’m so shocked!”

“Oh, crap!” Honoka said, putting one hand on either side of her head. “If you didn’t know, that means I didn’t tell anyone else either! It’s almost our eight month anniversary and no one knows!”

“Honoka!”

“It slipped my mind!”

* * *

> harash0 is online!
> 
> harash0: I know you aren’t online right now, but I just wanted to say that it seemed like I was being cold earlier.   
>  harash0: I really do care about you and your relationship!   
>  harash0: And I wish the best for you!   
>  harash0: But it WAS three in the morning and I was trying to sleep.   
>  harash0: That said, I want to reiterate that I think you’re being a little too paranoid about all of this.   
>  harash0: Kotori likes you the way you are and her parents love you as well.   
>  harash0: You don’t need to go out of your way to pretend to be the perfect girlfriend in front of her or her parents.   
>  harash0: I can tell you from experience that it’s not always the easiest making the transition from recognizing your feelings for someone as friendly to romantic, and you’ve done well adjusting.   
>  harash0: But I think some part of you is still hesitant.   
>  harash0: I know I don’t have much room to tell you this, all things considered…   
>  harash0: Because, well, I’m a coward, too.   
>  harash0: But you and Kotori have something special and nothing you do barring the absolutely incredulous is going to ruin it.   
>  harash0: Kotori already knows that you’re reserved and not great at being romantic but she doesn’t care.   
>  harash0: If she did, she’d tell you.   
>  harash0: She likes you the way you are.   
>  harash0: So just go into the dinner like you would any other and you’ll be fine.   
>  harash0: Oh, and let me know how it goes!   
>  harash0: I can almost guarantee 100% that it won’t be as bad as you expect.
> 
> harash0 is idle!

* * *

When Kotori met up with Umi by her shoe locker, Umi was already frowning deeply at a small handful of letters that had been shoved into her locker. Sure, she wasn’t the type to go around _broadcasting_ her relationship with Kotori, but she figured most people already knew and the daily love confessions would go away.

She was wrong.

So very, very wrong.

If anything, they only came more often and in greater amounts, and Umi was ready to throw her head back and scream until her throat gave out right there in front of her locker. After the fiasco with her accidentally going on dates with half the school and breaking the hearts of the rest, she really, _really_ didn’t want to keep dealing with everyone’s weird, misplaced crush on her. All she wanted to do was change her shoes and walk home with Kotori and maybe cry a little out of pure anxiety in her room before heading over to Kotori’s house for dinner.

“Please save me,” she said, withering, as Kotori patted her back. “I don’t know what I did to warrant this kind of attention. Someone like Eli I would understand, but me? I can’t even handle having a girlfriend the right way.”

“You’re just the kind of girl that girls admire, I guess,” Kotori said. “You’re very… parental? That’s not the right word. You’re just easy to look up to.”

“I never asked for this.” She bent down to swap out her school shoes for her outdoor shoes, staring hard at the letters in her hand. “I don’t even know what to _do_ with all of these. If I read them I’ll feel bad and if I don’t I’ll still feel bad. Should I just… throw them away?”

“It’s probably best not to do that at school. You might hurt someone’s feelings,” Kotori suggested. “I can hold onto them until you get home, if you want me to. So you don’t feel tempted to look at them now.”

“Please do,” Umi replied, handing them over and shutting her locker door. “I guess I’ll just… add them to the pile when I get home. I still haven’t opened the others… I’m running out of room to put them.”

Kotori giggled, dropping the letters into her bag and grabbing Umi’s hand, twining their fingers together. (Umi went red to her ears when Kotori squeezed her hand, but still squeezed back.) “You’re so noble, Umi-chan! Maybe that’s why everyone thinks you’re such a dashing prince. You don’t even have the heart to throw them away even when you know you won’t reply to any of them.”

“If I was a dashing prince, I wouldn’t have half the problems I do,” Umi muttered under her breath, quickly falling into step with Kotori as they headed out the front doors.

“I kind of like that you aren’t, though. You wouldn’t be you if you didn’t fail all the time. Plus it’s cute when you mess up, hehe.” Kotori started to lightly swing their conjoined hands between them as they walked toward Umi’s house. “Anyway, Dad made curry tonight, so we’re gonna have that with rice and maybe a salad. Mom probably won’t be home until around seven so that’s a good time to come over.”

Umi tightened her grip on her bag. “It’s been awhile since I’ve had your dad’s curry.”

“Mhm! He doesn’t make it a lot, but I told him it was a special occasion so he agreed.”

They fell into a comfortable silence as they walked, Kotori still swinging their arms between them and walking in time with the song she was humming quietly. It gave Umi plenty of time to mull over tonight's plans, already feeling her palms start to sweat.

She knew it was ridiculous to be this worried about _dinner_ , but now that it was closer than ever the panic was really setting in. She'd never felt the need to impress Kotori's family before, considering she basically grew up with them (and Honoka's parents) as a second family, and wondered where all this anxiety came from. It certainly didn't _help_ that it seemed like her friends were better girlfriends than she would ever be, but that couldn't be all of it, right?

She was… _good_ , or so she thought. She listened to Kotori's worries and fears and was always a phone call away when she needed her. She was supportive. She even bought Kotori an outrageously oversized plush bird for her birthday (and embarrassed herself in the presentation of it, but hey, it's the thought that counts) because she'd mentioned off-hand how fun it would be to have one. She wasn't a _bad_ girlfriend. She tried!

But… Well, maybe she _could_ be better.

She gnawed on her bottom lip before Kotori bumped her shoulder lightly.

“Hey, Umi-chan…”

“Y… Yeah?”

“You don't have anything to worry about, okay? I know you're still nervous but you don't have to be. Just be yourself! It's just a normal dinner, just like we always had when you and Honoka-chan came over to spend the night!”

Umi swallowed thickly, but bumped Kotori back even more lightly. “That doesn't really make me feel any better…” she replied honestly.

Kotori beamed, the dimples in her cheeks making their grand appearance, and Umi thought to herself that if Honoka was sunshine, Kotori was the rainbow after her storm, there to work with the sunshine to clean up after the rain. “I figured as much. If you're _really_ worried about impressing my parents, Mom really likes those sweets from the shop down the road from my house! And Dad likes it when you compliment his cooking.”

“I'll keep that in mind.”

They stopped in front of Umi's house and Kotori bid her a temporary goodbye and said she'd see her again at seven, leaving Umi on the front doorstep by herself as she watched her go.

It hit her later that the song Kotori had been humming was the one Umi had written as her solo song with Kotori and Honoka on her mind.

* * *

> honkhonk is online!
> 
> honkhonk: I need your help.   
>  honkhonk: With hair and makeup.   
>  honkhonk:   
>  honkhonk:   
>  honkhonk: ...Nico-chan-sama.
> 
> niconii is online!
> 
> niconii: ( *｀ω´)

* * *

The moment Kotori opened the door in a sweater over a button-up and a simple skirt, Umi knew she was overdressed. After a lot of deliberation with Honoka (“Maybe you should go for something sexier.” “Sexy isn't in my vocabulary.” “We used to wear short skirts all the time!” “Don't remind me!”), she decided on a dark blue cocktail dress (that ended at her knees, praise the gods) with a matching shawl and heels. Truth be told, if left to her own devices, she never could have matched anything, but Hanayo had an eye for details.

She grimaced. “Too much?”

Kotori laughed quietly. “You look really pretty, but it _might_ be a little much.”

“Fantastic,” Umi groaned, but followed Kotori inside anyway.

“Mom is still in her suit, so you don't have to worry too much about being overdressed!” Kotori said as Umi took off her shoes and slid into the slippers Kotori had set out for her. “And you really _do_ look nice.”

Umi blushed and fiddled with one of the two sections of hair near her face that Nico had left out of the messy yet meticulous up-do she had given her, following Kotori out of the foyer and toward the table, Kotori’s golden retriever as pudgy and loving as always as he bumped his nose against Umi's thigh when she sat down. Kotori promised she'd be right back and disappeared into the kitchen. She could hear the clanking of plates and Kotori's mother laughing at something her husband said, and quickly pulled her phone out of her purse and checked the messaging app she'd finally downloaded (though she was still too stubborn to make her own account).

> honkhonk is online!
> 
> honkhonk: I'm terribly overdressed.   
>  honkhonk: This is a bad start.
> 
> harash0 is online!
> 
> harash0: How so?   
>  honkhonk: I bought a nice cocktail dress and heels.   
>  honkhonk: I even bought a new purse because I had some money left over.   
>  honkhonk: And I asked Nico to do my hair and makeup.   
>  honkhonk: Noriko-san is the only one moderately dressed up and it's only because she's still in her work clothes.   
>  honkhonk: I feel like, in trying too hard, I may have come off a little… haughty?   
>  honkhonk: Like I'm saying I expected everyone to be dressed more formally and I'm disappointed they aren't.   
>  harash0: I doubt they're all thinking that.   
>  harash0: At worst, they're probably surprised you took it so seriously.   
>  harash0: You're practically family to them.   
>  harash0: Just relax and you'll be fine. :)   
>  honkhonk: Okay.   
>  honkhonk: I'll try.   
>  honkhonk: Oh, here they come.
> 
> honkhonk is offline!
> 
> harash0: Good luck!

She closed her phone and dropped it hastily back into her purse, not wanting to seem like she had something better to do as Kotori skipped into the room holding the rice cooker, her parents following with the rest of the meal. After distributing bowls and spoons, Kotori took her seat next to Umi as her mother sat opposite Umi and her father sat opposite her. She grabbed Umi's hand under the table and gave it a quick reassuring squeeze before clapping her hands together to give thanks for the meal.

To Umi’s relief, dinner was a mostly uneventful affair. Kotori’s mom talked about how what she and Kotori did with the rest of μ's brought in even more students than expected for this year, and what the future of Otonoki looked like because of their efforts, and Kotori’s dad proudly boasted that his talented daughter got chosen to study abroad her first year in college, which had Kotori blushing and muttering out an embarrassed, “D-Dad!”

It was… familiar. Dinner with the Minamis was nothing different than it had been in the past, and Umi visibly relaxed after a while, laughing along with Kenshin’s jokes as Noriko put her face in her hands nonseriously and groaned about them. She even poured a small bowl of curry for Ein when he flopped his head in Umi’s lap and grunted for attention.

Everything fell apart when the discussion of her relationship with Kotori came up.

“So, Umi-kun,” Kenshin said, helping himself to another bowl of curry rice, “what’s the future look like for our favorite pseudo-daughter?”

“Oh, well,” Umi said, flattening out her dress. “I applied to Musashino Art University for next year and got accepted, though my parents think I could have gone for a more prestigious university.” She tapped her fingers on the table. “But the way I see it, no matter where I go, my destiny is to inherit the dojo. At least at Musashino I can explore my love of the arts while preparing to take over the dojo.”

“Is Honoka-chan following you there?” Noriko asked.

Umi shook her head. “Honoka is going to Daito Bunka University. It’s another liberal arts college, but it’s also where her mother graduated from, so it’s rather important to her family. I don’t think she’s sad about us not going to the same college, though. I expected her to be, but she seems excited to go to Daito Bunka. And, of course, Kotori is heading to France for her first year.”

Kotori smiled. “Yep! But after I get back, I’m going to Bunka Gakuen!” she said brightly. “It’s just a vocational school, but there’s not much at a normal university for a career in fashion. But my year abroad should give me a headstart on the industry, since I’ll be studying under some of the biggest names in fashion!”

“And we are _so proud_ ,” Noriko replied, pinching Kotori’s cheek with a smile. “A year apart is a long time, though, and Kotori won’t be able to come home until the year is up because of the school schedule in France.”

For a split second, Umi’s calmness faltered as the full weight of it sunk in. That’s right… An entire year apart from Kotori, and they only just started their relationship a couple months ago. “Oh, um, y-yes, it’s a long time, b-but we can make it work! We, uh-- I mean, we can email, and Kotori has been mentioning me downloading some sort of video chat program, and--”

Kotori put her hand on Umi’s knee. “It’ll be okay, Mom! It’s just for a year, and as soon as I come back the first thing I’m going to do is go see Umi-chan.”

“Of course, dear,” Kenshin said, “it’s just that, well…”

He shared a look with Noriko, who continued his thought with, “It’s just that your father and I are… worried, you could say. About the future for both of you. Er. Together.” She laughed nervously and folded her hands on top of the table. “What I mean is, this is… new to us. As a concept. It’s not every day your daughter tells you she’s in a relationship with her best friend. And especially so close to the end of your third year, and with Kotori spending the first year of university abroad… There are a lot of factors involved, and while we’re still, er, getting used to all of this, we just wanted you to know we’re very supportive of your relationship. You make each other happy. We wouldn’t want to see that fail.”

In retrospect, Umi probably could have given an impassioned speech sitting down. It wouldn’t have been hard, actually: one hand on her chest to show how she spoke from the heart, a solid expression, fire behind her eyes. She’d done it before out of necessity.

But it was in Umi’s nature to go the full nine yards whenever possible.

Which led to her standing up quickly, far too quickly to process that she should have at least scooted out a little before doing so, and her knees hit the table as the hem of her dress nicked the edge of her half-full bowl of curry rice…

...and sent it right across the table and into Noriko’s lap.

Umi _felt_ something snap in her mind as she watched it all happen in slow motion, tripping over herself to catch the bowl before it spilled and ending up only with two handfuls of her girlfriend’s mother’s chest.

The room went silent.

And Umi, still leaning over the table, looked at Noriko, and looked at her hands, and scrambled back so quickly she knocked right into a lamp, which fell over (and broke) and hit a very, _very_ expensive vase Umi knew from Kotori that her mother had received as a gift, and knocked it to the floor. It shattered into several pieces with a deafening crack. Kotori had both hands over her mouth and Kenshin was frozen in place with a spoonful of curry rice halfway to his mouth and Noriko looked like she was still processing the lapful of food as Umi looked at all of them and then turned around to look at the damage she’d done.

“Oh,” she stammered out, frazzled. “Oh, God, I’m so-- I’m so _sorry_ , Noriko-san, I didn’t-- I didn’t mean to-- It all just-- Before I knew it, it just--”

Noriko waved her hands in front of her and carefully slid the curry rice-filled napkin off her lap, pinching the corners together to keep it from spilling any more and dropping the napkin cup into the bowl. She stood up and peeled off her suit jacket. “Umi-chan, it’s okay! Really, it’s fine! I had a napkin on my lap, so it really just got on my jacket--”

Umi dropped to her knees and said, “My humblest apologies! Please, allow me to fight the warrior of your choice to restore your honor! I’ve insulted you in your own house! Do not allow my transgressions to go unpunished! I will prove myself in the arena of battle!”

“It’s… It’s just a jacket, Umi-chan, I can put it in the washing machine--”

“Let me clean it for you!” Umi said without thinking, standing up and grabbing the jacket from Noriko’s hand and rushing over to the sink in the kitchen, red in the face and half-hoping she would drop dead from sheer embarrassment right then and there to avoid having to live this moment out any longer.

“Umi-chan!” Kotori called from the dining room, but Umi didn’t spare her a glance as she turned the knob for the hot water.

Nothing came out.

“No, no, no,” she repeated to herself, turning the knob both ways. “No, this can’t be happening!” Frustrated, she grabbed the knob with both hands and forced it on. The water still wouldn’t come out, but the worst of it was that Umi didn’t realize until Kotori came padding into the kitchen that she’d broken the knob off. Entirely.

She stared at the knob in her hand. “Oh, God… Oh no…”

“Umi-chan, it’s okay--”

“I-I’m so sorry!” Umi said, bowing to Kotori, rushing through the dining room, bowing to both her parents, and heading out the back door without even putting her shoes on, bare feet squishing in the wet grass.

Kotori’s eyes followed her. “Umi-chan…” she said quietly to herself. “Mom, are you okay?”

“Yes, honey, I’m fine,” Noriko replied.

“I don’t think Umi-kun is, though,” Kenshin said, looking out the now-open back door. “You should go talk to her. Your mother and I will clean up.”

“Okay.” Kotori grabbed her own boots and slid them on before grabbing her backup pair for Umi, following her out the back door and sliding it closed behind her. Most of the backyard was still covered in raindrops from the freak shower they’d had on her way home from Umi’s house after school, so it wasn’t hard to find Umi; she’d be where there wasn’t any water to sit in, which was the small covered wooden swing bench across the yard.

As she trotted across the yard, Umi came fully into view, on the bench with her knees pulled to her chest, uncharacteristically uncaring about whether anyone could see under her dress (her undies were in plain view, but Kotori decided it wasn’t the time) as she curled her wet, grass-covered toes over the edge of the bench. She had her face buried in her knees and Kotori could tell she was suppressing the urge to cry. Whenever Umi got upset when they were kids, she would curl up just like this and fight off tears. She’d seen it more times than she could count.

It made her heart hurt to see Umi doing the same thing now.

“Umi-chan, I brought you boots,” she said, setting them down in front of her and taking the seat next to her on the swing. “Your feet are probably really cold from being wet, so I didn’t want you to get sick.”

Umi didn’t respond.

“The weather forecast didn’t say it was supposed to rain today! I’m glad you got home before it started. It was pretty bad. I had to towel off when I got home before the dinner. I even had to redo my hair!”

Still no response.

Kotori tapped her heels together as she swung her legs, hands on her knees. “You don’t have to be upset, Umi-chan.”

“I ruined everything,” Umi said into her knees, curling her toes more. “Tonight was supposed to be _perfect_ and it-- I just _ruined_ it. Now your parents probably hate me, and they won’t let us be together anymore, and we won’t be able to be friends either, and I’ll have to change my name and move to Guatemala and become a pig farmer, and--”

“They don’t hate you!” Kotori said, reaching a hand out to rub Umi’s back. “I promise. They’re not mad about what happened. In fact, they’re really worried about you. They’ve never seen you so defeated.”

“But I broke a lamp. And your mother’s vase. And the _sink_.”

“That’s all stuff we can fix or replace. But _you_ aren’t. What’s got you so anxious lately?” Umi looked up from her knees, makeup smudged from pressing her eyes into her legs, and Kotori looked at her with so much worry Umi’s heart clenched.

It felt ridiculous to say out loud. “I…” she started, pulling her knees closer to her chest. “I just wanted to be the perfect girlfriend. But I’m-- I’m not _good_ at any of that. I don’t do cute things with you on a whim like Rin and Hanayo, and I don’t bring you flowers or anything because I get embarrassed, and I can’t hold hands with you in public without blushing. I wanted this dinner to be perfect so you could see how good I am and be… be _proud_ of me. I really care about you, Kotori. And I want everything to be perfect for you. _I_ want to be perfect for you.”

Kotori laughed quietly. “That’s the thing, though: you’re _not_ perfect, Umi-chan! No one is! But you don’t _have_ to be. I like you the way you are, even if you mess up a lot and get embarrassed really easily.”

“...Really?” Umi said just as quietly, finally dropping her knees from her chest and letting her legs dangle from the swing.

“Of course!” Kotori replied. “If I wanted the dashing prince everyone thinks you are, I’d find one. But I don’t need you to take me out dancing, or take me to fancy restaurants, or serenade me in public--I just like _being_ with you, no matter what we do. You don’t have to pretend to be someone you’re not just for me.”

“And your parents really aren’t mad?”

“Umi-chan, they love you just as much as they love me!”

“...Even though I broke the lamp? And the vase? ...And the sink?”

Kotori laughed again, louder this time. “That wasn’t even the same vase. I broke it years ago while I was playing with Ein in the house and Mom didn’t even get mad at _me_ , I doubt she’d get mad at _you_. She was a little disappointed, but she wasn’t _mad_.”

“Oh. That’s… That’s good. I guess.”

Umi returned Kotori’s small smile before looking out to the yard and watching Ein roll around in the grass, having followed Umi out into the backyard earlier. She wondered why she’d ever been so stupid as to think that anything would go wrong with just being herself for this dinner. The Minamis were her family. She grew up in this backyard with Kotori and Honoka. She’d sat on this bench more times than she could count, back when they were small enough to fit all three of them on it. Back when Ein was just a pudgy puppy following Umi around everywhere, even once all the way to her house.

This was home, and she was going to miss it after graduation. She was going to miss _Kotori_ after graduation most of all. Honoka was going to Daito Bunka, but that was all of an hour away by train. They could still spend weekends and breaks together.

Kotori was going to _France_.

Her hands started fumbling with the hem of her dress unconsciously. Kotori’s parents _did_ have a point, before everything went to hell during dinner. Umi had spent years dancing around her feelings and only once she acted on them did the reality of life moving on truly set it. Kotori was leaving and Umi was going to be left behind. How would they make it work? She’d never been in a long-distance relationship before. She’d never been in _any_ relationship before Kotori. Would they last?

 _Could_ they last?

“I’m going to miss you,” she said, finally, looking at her lap. “When you leave for France. I… I’ve never been without you, really. It’s going to be hard not being able to walk ten minutes to find you playing in the front yard with Ein.”

“It’s just for the first year,” Kotori replied, grabbing Umi’s hand and pulling it over to her lap to hold it with both of hers. “But I’m going to miss you too. I’m going to miss everyone.”

“I’ll email you every day.”

“You can call too! And I can help you get a Skype set up so we can video chat sometimes.”

Umi nodded, then bit her lip. “Kotori… I really want… this to last. I want _us_ to last. Even if you’re in France and I’m here… I want to make it work.”

“We will,” Kotori reassured her, patting the hand in her lap. “I know we will.”

A welcome silence fell upon them for a few minutes as they watched Ein hop around the grass chasing bugs before deciding enough was enough and flopping over onto his side in the middle of the yard. He still tried to go after the bugs close by his mouth, which ended up leaving him wiggling around where he lay, trying in vain to eat them.

“Umi-chan…”

“Yes?”

“Would you really fight a warrior for me to impress my parents?”

“A-Absolutely!”

* * *

> alpacasrlove is online!
> 
> alpacasrlove: Eli, it’s Umi.   
>  alpacasrlove: I know you’re in class right now but I guess you could say dinner with Kotori’s parents is over.   
>  alpacasrlove: It was a disaster.   
>  alpacasrlove: I spilled food on Noriko-san, broke a lamp, broke a vase, and even broke the sink.   
>  alpacasrlove: Needless to say, it was awful.   
>  alpacasrlove: At least, the dinner part was.   
>  alpacasrlove: Kotori and I sat outside for a while and talked, which was much less awful.   
>  alpacasrlove: We talked about the future and fears.   
>  alpacasrlove: It was… really nice.   
>  alpacasrlove: I think we’re going to be okay.   
>  alpacasrlove: I really do think we’re going to be okay, no matter what life throws at us.   
>  alpacasrlove: And even with Kotori studying abroad next year, I think we’ll be fine.   
>  alpacasrlove: So… thank you. For trying to set my head straight, even if I didn’t take your advice at first.   
>  alpacasrlove: And, well… I hope that one day you’ll stop being a coward, too.   
>  alpacasrlove: And when you do, I’ll be here for you, cheering you on.   
>  alpacasrlove: So, good luck to you, too.
> 
> alpacasrlove is offline!


End file.
